How to handle sentimental clutter before moving

Moving is expensive. For this reason, you should try to lower the moving costs. The best way to do it is by decluttering your home. It is easy to part ways with meaningless items. You can buy new ones without any trouble. On the other hand, it is very difficult to say goodbye to your favorite items. If you really want to reduce your moving costs, then bring only the essentials. Since it is emotionally difficult to deal to do this, here is how you should handle sentimental clutter before moving. Make sure to do this before moving companies Anne Arundel County MD come to weigh your items.  

Start with an inventory 

Even before you start looking for long distance movers Virginia, do an inventory. You should determine what is worth keeping. You should differentiate between items that you really love and the ones that associate you with a person, time or place. Is it really necessary to keep an old shirt just because it reminds you of one person? Probably not. For this reason, see if you truly need a certain item. In addition to this, gifts can be burdensome. You probably want to keep all the gifts. However, you should not bring along all the gifts, especially the ones you no longer use. Therefore, get rid of guilt. You do not have to bring the book your friend gave you five years ago, especially if you do not plan to read it.  

Handle sentimental clutter before moving – give it away! 

Donating is always the best option when you need to handle sentimental clutter before moving. For this reason, do not hesitate to donate some of your sentimental items. But first, make sure they are in good condition. Some of the major charities are the following. 

• Salvation Army 
• Goodwill 
• AMVETS National Service Foundation 
• Habitat for Humanity 
• The Arc 

All of these charities offer free pickup. Therefore, be sure to call them. Apart from these options, you can contact your local charities and churches. Lastly, you can invite friends over. Tell them to come over and take items they like. This way you will know your items will have found a good new home.  

More ways to deal with sentimental items 

Here are all the other tips for dealing with sentimental things. 

• Save a virtual memory – scan documents and photos and save the digital copies in one place. The original copies can go to your storage unit. In addition to this, you can take a photo of some items you plan to donate.  
• Force your partner to declutter – if your partner has hoarding problems, force them do declutter. 
• Keep one of a bunch – if you have a collection of sentimental items, keep only one. This way, you will reduce the number of items, but still, keep one sentimental item. 

Do not hesitate to say goodbye to your sentimental clutter before your move.